VAT number and turnover tax number

If you set up a business in the Netherlands, you must have it included in the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel, KvK). The Chamber of Commerce will pass on your details to the Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst). Once the Tax and Customs Administration has registered your details, you will receive automatically a VAT number (also known as a VAT identification number).

If you start a one-man business, you will receive the VAT number immediately when you register with the Chamber of Commerce. If you set up a general partnership (vennootschap onder firma, VOF), limited partnership (commanditaire vennootschap, CV), partnership (maatschap) or legal entity, the Tax and Customs Administration will usually send you your VAT number within five working days.

The VAT number

A VAT number (btw-nummer) consists of 14 characters: the NL country code followed by the Legal entity and partnership venture information number (referred to as the RSIN in the Netherlands) plus a code comprising three characters. On some of its forms, the Tax and Customs Administration uses the turnover tax number (omzetbelastingnummer). This number does not include a country code.

The Tax and Customs Administration states your VAT number on the letters and forms it sends to you. You are obliged to state your VAT number on all of your invoices.

VAT number de-registration

If you deregister your company from the Chamber of Commerce, you will be deregistered automatically from the Tax and Customs Administration database. Your VAT number will then be de‑registered. You will receive a written confirmation from the Tax and Customs Administration about this.

Verification

You can ask the Tax and Customs Administration to verify your business customer’s VAT number and state whether the company name-VAT number combination is correct.

If your business customer is based in an EU country, you can consult the European Commission’s VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) prior to having the Tax and Customs Administration verify the existence of the VAT number.